Oral Cancer Mortality

Cancer deaths data are derived from the Ontario Cancer Registry (OCR) operated by Cancer Care Ontario. The OCR contains information on Ontario residents who have died of all types of malignant cancers. Cancer sites were coded using the Third Edition of the International Classification of Diseases for Oncology (ICDO-3).

Overall

Over the six years between 2007 and 2012, 125 Simcoe Muskoka residents died from oral cancer with an age-standardized mortality rate for all ages and both sexes of 3.9 (3.2, 4.6) per 100,000 population. This was not significantly different from the Ontario oral cancer mortality rate of 3.5 (3.3, 3.6) per 100,000.

Figure one below shows the trend in oral cancer mortality in both Simcoe Muskoka and Ontario over the twenty-seven years from 1986 to 2012, grouped into four distinct time-periods. The oral cancer mortality rates in both Simcoe Muskoka and Ontario as a whole decreased significantly over these time periods, with an average annual percentage decrease of approximately two per cent per year.

Figure One

By Sex

Over the six years between 2007 and 2012, the age-standardized mortality rate for oral cancer among Simcoe Muskoka males was 6.0 (4.8, 7.4) per 100,000, which was triple the female rate of 2.0 (1.4, 2.8) per 100,000. The oral cancer mortality rates for Ontario males and females were not significantly different from the comparable Simcoe Muskoka rates over this same time period.

Figure two shows the trend in oral cancer mortality rates for males and females in Simcoe Muskoka over the twenty-seven year period between 1986 and 2012, grouped into four distinct time-periods. The oral cancer mortality rates for Simcoe Muskoka males have decreased significantly over this time period; however, the females rates have remained relatively stable over time. The male rates have remained significantly higher than the female rates over this entire time period.

Figure Two

By Age Group

Oral cancer mortality increases significantly with age (see figure three). The age-specific oral cancer mortality rates between 2007 and 2012 (combined) in Simcoe Muskoka were highest among those 75 years and older at 24 (17.7, 31.2) deaths per 100,000 population, which was more than five times the rate among adults 45 to 64 years of age and double the rate for seniors between 65 and 74 years of age. The age-specific oral cancer mortality rates in Simcoe Muskoka were significantly higher than the comparable provincial rate among older seniors (75+ years).